Biographies

William Wallace Forester

Survivor

Harry Forester (in bib overalls) dreamed of amassing enough wheat-producing land in Oklahoma to bequeath each of his five sons with 640 acres. The Dust Bowl ruined those dreams, and he ended up moving them and the rest of the family to a three-room rented house in Oakland. His two youngest sons (Robert, front row, center; and Bill, front row right) help tell the story of their father's broken dreams. Credit: Forester Family Collection

Nicknamed "Jeep" after a character in the Popeye comic strip, William Wallace Forester was six years, seven months, and one day old when the Forester family arrived in Oakland, California. "When we got off the truck," Bill says, "our friends Don and Lee Tucker showed us how to collect Monterey Pine needles and roll them up into a makeshift cigarette. I thought, 'Wow—we have arrived!'"

Academics came naturally to Bill and he sailed through primary and secondary school. He worked evenings and weekends from the age of 12 onward – as a "box boy" at a local grocery store, a "belt boy" for UPS, sorting parcels as they passed on a conveyer belt, and a "copy boy" for the Oakland Tribune – and saved his money. In fact, he says proudly, he probably still has a nickel out of every dollar he's made.

In the fall of 1951, Bill enlisted in the Army and was recruited by the National Security Administration for communications intelligence. He returned to Berkeley and completed his A.B. in the spring of 1955. That fall, he began a life-long career in teaching – working with both gifted and underserved youth, and implementing the first personal computer labs in the Bay Area schools. He met his wife, Juanita, while teaching in Germany. After raising two children, they retired to a hilltop overlooking Ashland, Oregon, where they built a gracious and welcoming home. Today, Bill spends his days there gardening and entertaining family and friends.

THE DUST BOWL is sponsored by

Funding is provided by Bank of America, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Public Broadcasting Service, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Rockefeller Foundation, Wallace Genetic Foundation and members of The Better Angels Society, including the Dana A. Hamel Family Charitable Trust and Robert and Beverly Grappone.